A Deadly Cold
by dark-angel18
Summary: The nine friends have just set off from Rivendell and have only the slightest idea of what is in store for them! Please read and review! *Chapter 3 up!*
1. The Clearing

This is my first fan fic so please be nice if you review…I hope you do review…I like feedback! But for now just read on.  
  
The Clearing  
  
The Company had started out from Rivendell at least a week prior to the time at which this story takes place. They were already slightly tired, though they knew they had a much longer journey in front of them then they had already trekked. Even Legolas, the strong hearted elf, who was used to such conditions, was not walking with the usual spring in his step. The fact that the weather was bitterly cold only served to make matters worse. The little hobbits, especially the youngest, Pippin, were feeling the weather the most, even though they had the likes of Aragorn and Boromir to shelter them.  
  
'Gandalf' said Pippin, shivering with cold, 'can we not find a resting spot soon? Achoo!' It seemed that the youngest member of the Company had developed a cold due to the weather conditions. 'It is so cold and I don't know how much further I can go without a warm meal inside of me. Achoo!'  
  
'Yes, p-please have pity Gandalf!' Merry was so cold that his voice shivered nearly as much as his small body.  
  
Gandalf sighed and replied, 'Alas, Merry and little Pippin, I would dearly love to stop, for I too am cold. But we must press on for at least another few hours. Even if we did stop now, I doubt if we would be able to light a fire with this cold weather. No, I'm afraid we must persist until nightfall, otherwise we will lose valuable time.' Noticing the downcast looks on the hobbits faces, he added, 'Do not worry, if we carry on we may find a place out of the harsh wind, suitable for lighting a fire.'  
  
'Achoo!' replied Pippin.  
  
Although this did little to raise Merry and Pippins, and the rest of the Company's spirits, for that matter, they carried on, unwilling to displease Gandalf.  
  
After a few hours, when nightfall had finally arrived, Gandalf suddenly stopped and placed the end of his great staff upon the floor. Everyone else in the Company also stopped, not wanting to hope this would mean what they thought.  
  
Gandalf sniffed the air and was looking at a little clearing a few metres away from the narrow path they treaded on. 'Yes, I think that will do nicely,' he said quietly, then loud enough for the rest of his travelling friends to hear, 'Look thither, that clearing will be our resting spot for the night. And if I am not mistaken, Master Pippin,' he said with a twinkle in his eye, 'I think it is sheltered enough from the wind to light a fire!'  
  
Pippin paused only a few seconds before crying, 'What are we waiting for! Let's go and get the food cooked! Achoo!'  
  
So the nine of them trekked through the short patch of forest to arrive at the clearing.  
  
'First thing's first,' said Gimli, the dwarf very authoritatively. 'We must collect wood for the young hobbit's fire!' So he and Legolas each headed off in different ways to collect firewood. While they were gone the four hobbits took it upon themselves to unpack their belongings and get the food ready for cooking.  
  
'Do you think Gimli and Legolas would mind if we ate a little bit of the food that is to be eaten without heat?' Inquired Sam. Although Merry and Pippin were the ones who had been so vocal about eating before, Sam was still a hobbit and would eat seven meals a day if given the chance. Lately they had barely been having three meals a day, but neither he, nor indeed any of the other hobbits, had lost their appetite.  
  
'Achoo!' sneezed Pippin.  
  
'I doubt if they would mind, Master Sam,' replied Gandalf, 'but I do not think you shall have to wait long for their return. I think I hear them coming now.'  
  
Sure enough, a few seconds later, both Legolas and Gimli appeared from the woods. Each was carrying a bundle of firewood.  
  
'Ah!' exclaimed Legolas. 'I did not think you young hobbits would be able to wait long enough for us to collect firewood to start eating!'  
  
'What do you mean, Legolas?' demanded Frodo. 'We have not yet begun to eat!'  
  
'I know,' smiled Legolas, 'but my elfish hearing allowed me to hear Sam and Gandalf's conversation. Don't worry though, I'm sure we will get this fire started in no time, and you shall be able to have hot food. How does that sound, Sam?' In saying this he dropped his stack of wood to the ground, motioning for Gimli to do the same, and the two set about making the fire.  
  
'It sounds very good, Legolas!' cried Sam. 'Come, Pippin and Merry, let us bring the food over to the fire!'  
  
'Achoo!'  
  
So the three friends carried the food over to the fire and sat in eager anticipation for it to be hot enough to cook on.  
  
Ten minutes later Boromir, who had been placed in charge of cooking the food, was just about to serve up the food when a noise was heard in the woods. 'Shh!' he whispered. 'There is something out there!' Immediately everyone in the gathering froze and ceased to make any noise. Then they heard it again. A sound like a high-pitched voice, but with no words.  
  
'Orcs!' cried Sam. 


	2. Invasion!

This is basically the same chapter with a few little changes added in, thanks to the hints from my wonderful reviewers. Thanks Kaeera, Laerupeth, and shen panda!  
  
Please read and review! An author always loves feedback, no matter how short or long it is (the longer the better though!) But for now enjoy!  
  
Invasion!  
  
Sam and the other four hobbits then proceeded to draw their swords from their belts. The other five in the company, however, were not as easily scared and were wary about bringing out their weapons. The noise came again and they all turned in the direction which they thought they had heard it. Unfortunately this meant that they all turned to face different directions.  
  
'No offence intended,' whispered Legolas, 'but my hearing is best, and I am sure it came from this direction.' He then pointed to the South, the very direction in which they had been headed. 'I am also quite sure that, unfortunately, Sam was right. It is orcs. I can see them, but I do not know if they are yet aware of our presence. I think they would have attacked by now if they were.' He said all of this very quietly. 'We could possibly avoid battle if you wish by putting out the fire quickly and staying low to the ground, for they do not cross our path. They have crossed from the forest on the other side of the road and are going in a straight line.' Silently and quickly, the fire was out and the members of the Company were lying on the ground making as little noise as possible. In the case of the hobbits and the elf, this meant making no noise at all. Their quiet was made up for by Gimli, for no matter hard he tried, he could not seem to quiet his breathing. However, they were still a near silent party and it seemed that the orcs would pass them by without noticing them.  
  
'Oh, no!' whispered Pippin. 'A-a-achooo!' He let out his loudest sneeze yet.  
  
Everything was silent for a few seconds. Then the air seemed to explode with the noise that had first raised Boromir's suspicions: Orc cries. The orcs ran towards the clearing where the Company lay, you did not need elfish hearing to realise that. The nine travellers needed to make a decision, and they needed to do it with great haste. They all knew there was no time for reprimanding Pippin. Suddenly Legolas made the decision for them. He stood up and, unslinging his bow from behind his back, he took an arrow from his quiver and placed it upon the string of the bow, and let it fly with deadly precision. You could hear the orc that had been hit cry out in pain then hit the ground. But there were still many more orcs that were still coming, and Legolas, his bow twanging, shot lots before they had even arrived at the clearing, his hand almost moving faster than the eye could see. Altogether there were about thirty orcs against the nine fellowship members, but they fought long and hard. No orcs that got in Aragorn's way were left standing, for together he and his sword were a deadly pair, slicing through orc flesh as easily and quickly as a hot knife through melted butter. Boromir also was not one to be toiled with as the invaders attacked the clearing. As one orc attacked him, he stabbed it through the heart, then chopped the head off another that he had sensed behind him. Gandalf knocked his opponents out of the way with his great staff, and Gimli swung his axe as if his life depended upon it…which it did.  
  
Suddenly Legolas noticed that an orc was sneaking up behind Merry and Pippin, and quick as a flash he notched an arrow and, just as the orc was about to bring his sword down upon their heads, he let loose his arrow and hit the creature right in the middle of his back, bringing him down dead. Merry and Pippin whirled around and saw Legolas standing with his bow pointing at the now dead orc. They smiled in thanks, but didn't have time for anything more, for two more creatures of Sauron were closing in on the two hobbits, and even more were closing in on Legolas! The tall, blonde elf easily shot two of approaching orcs, and killed the other two (who were now too close to shoot) with one swipe of his dagger. Merry and Pippin, even though they were small, could easily take on two of these evil creatures when they worked together. They stood back to back and held their swords up, and when the orcs came near enough, they used each other to push off and plunged their swords deep into the orcs stomach, killing them straight away.  
  
Finally, after Aragorn had slain the last orc, the Company all threw themselves down upon the ground, utterly exhausted. It was quite a while before Gandalf sat up and said, 'Pippin, what were you thinking? How could you have sneezed at such a crucial time?'  
  
Poor Pippin must have been quite distraught that he had, for he sounded very sorry indeed when he said, 'I certainly had no intention of it! I am very, very sorry that I did.' Then brightening, he added, 'But did you see the way Merry and I killed those orcs? We kicked their shins, crawled under their legs and stabbed them in the back, and chopped their heads off! Achoo!' He emphasised each new description with a swipe of his barrow sword.  
  
'Yeah!' cried Merry. 'We were most definitely better fighters than all of the orcs put together! Did anyone note how many there were?'  
  
'I think there were about thirty of them.' Replied Boromir. 'Definitely a lot more of them than there were of us, anyhow.'  
  
'Exactly!' exclaimed Pippin. We have to have been the better team of fighters if there were so many more of them. And look at us! We won! There is no question that we came out of the fight the better side! Achoo!'  
  
'That is true, little one,' said Legolas. 'Friends, we have just had our first meeting with orcs, completely unprepared, and we proceeded to kill all of them, with no injuries at all to our side. To that I say "Congratulations!". But, alas! This is just the start of a long and perilous journey, and we have many more battles yet to come. Let us just hope that this is and indication of how things are to continue! I think that we should set a watch, and try and get some sleep. I will take first watch, for I am not tired. Now all of you should try to get some sleep, we start early in the morning.'  
  
'We will go to bed,' said Gandalf, 'Straight after we have cleared up these bodies.' They all then cleared up the bodies and settled down to sleep for a few hours, while Legolas stayed up to keep watch.  
  
They dreamed dreams of defeating many more armies of orcs and destroying the ring within a few weeks. If only they knew the trouble that was in store for them just around the corner.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
I don't know when I'll be able to get the next chapter up…I guess it would help if I wrote it first! But I'm gonna be pretty busy the next few days, so I'll write like mad when I can! And thanks to those that have reviewed already – Kaeera I hope you get over your cold soon! 


	3. Missing

Same as usual: Read, enjoy, and REVIEW!!  
  
Missing  
  
Legolas had stayed up all night on watch, and had seen and heard nothing. Actually, this was not strictly true, for he had heard a slight rustling in the forest, and had gone to investigate. Finding nothing there, he had dismissed the noise as a harmless animal. He had been slightly afraid that the cries the orcs had sent out would have alerted other orcs, but apparently this was not the case, and for this Legolas was very grateful. He had not lied to the rest of the Company: he was not tired, but he did not know if he would be able to stand in battle again so soon after the previous nights events. But now it was morning, and no evil dwellers had come their way. The rest of Legolas' friends were now starting to awaken, and he was glad, for he was eager to be on the road once more.  
  
'Good morning, Legolas,' yawned Aragorn, the first to awaken. 'I take it that nothing happened while we slept?'  
  
'Thankfully, no,' replied Legolas. 'But I have a bad feeling about this place. Not orcs, but another kind of trouble. I am not quite sure what it is, and hopefully we shan't be here long enough to find out. I am sure I shall feel a lot better once we start on our way again.'  
  
'Very well,' said Gandalf, who had heard their conversation. 'We shall leave her as soon as possible. Come on, Pippin. Merry, wake up.' He nudged the two hobbits with his foot. He then went over to awaken Frodo and Sam, but when he nudged their blankets, he found, to his astonishment, that there was nothing in them!  
  
'Legolas! Aragorn! Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Boromir! Wake up! Frodo and Sam are missing!'  
  
As you can imagine, this woke those who were still asleep pretty quickly. They immediately organised to search the forest around the clearing, but they came up with nothing.  
  
'What could have happened to them?' cried Aragorn. 'Legolas, you were supposed to be keeping watch! How could you not have seen them go…or be taken?'  
  
It was at this point that Legolas remembered the sound he had heard and then dismissed so quickly. Could it have possibly been a distraction of some sort? He quickly told the others what he had heard, and asked them if they, too, thought it could have been a distraction.  
  
'It is highly possible,' responded Gandalf. 'But surely you would have noticed that they were missing when you came back, would you not?'  
  
'You would think that I would have, wouldn't you. But I was not really looking at them. I was looking out into the forest. That is the only explanation I can think of.'  
  
Then Aragorn said, almost as if he was thinking aloud, 'Even if it was a distraction of some kind, who would be distracting you, and why would they be doing it? Orcs are nowhere near clever enough to kidnap them without Legolas hearing, let alone know that there would be a watch set. And even if they were working under Sauron's orders,' he added, guessing correctly as to what Gandalf was about to say, 'they still would not be able to take Frodo and Sam without Legolas noticing. No, I am afraid to say that I think there is another dark force we have to worry about in this forest…one that is completely unconnected with Sauron. It looks like your fears about another kind of trouble were right, Legolas. We shall continue on our way, this time keeping a short distance away from the road, but still in sight of it. Look for any sing of Frodo and Sam, anything at all, even a strand of hair.'  
  
'We must also keep as silent as we can,' Boromir continued where Aragorn had left off. 'We do not know what this mystery creature is, therefore we do not know anything about it. We must not give them any chances to detect us, and we must look out for any sign of them, also no matter how small. As we don't know what we're looking for, we must look extra carefully. Footprints, branches that look as if they have broken off not by their own accord, all these things are helpful to us. But now we best be on our way. Pack up your things as quickly as you can. We leave very soon.'  
  
And they did. They walked a short distance away from the road, as Aragorn had instructed, and they walked quickly. They looked out for any sign of Frodo, Sam, or the mystery creatures, but they found none for the best part of an hour. Then, just when they though the creatures must have gone in the other direction to them, Pippin cried out, 'Look, over here! It is a piece of Frodo's cloak!' Sure enough, low to the ground, at about the rough eye level of a hobbit was a small section of material from Frodo's cloak. Then a thought struck Legolas.  
  
'Well done, my friend, but would you please come here,' he said. 'I want to test a theory that I have.' So Pippin went over to Legolas, and to everyone's surprise, especially Pippin's, Legolas picked Pippin up and held him under his arm! All was to be explained though.  
  
'It is as I thought,' exclaimed Legolas. 'If you look, you will find that the piece of material from Frodo's cloak is at the same height as the hem of Pippin's cloak when I pick him up. Since the scrap of cloak looks like the edge of a hem, this must mean that they were definitely carried off, and by a being about the same height as me. We should look around this area to see if we find anything more to help us on our quest.' In saying that, he immediately started to look around for any more clues, such as broken branches or footprints, as Boromir had suggested. The others soon started to look around as well, all eager to find any clue that would help them determine the whereabouts of their friends. Suddenly Aragorn cried out 'Aha! Come here quickly, I have found a footprint that belongs to none of us!' Naturally, this brought all the searchers running. There, in the dirt on the forest floor, was a footprint that was indeed much too large have been made by any of the fellowship.  
  
'And look over here!' yelled Merry. They all then realised that he hadn't come running when Aragorn found the footprint. Hearing the urgency in his voice, they abandoned the old clue and ran over to Merry instead. None of them, however, were prepared for what he had found. Built into the tree, and very cleverly disguised, was a door.  
  
Well, that's the end of another chapter. I finished this one a lot sooner than I thought I would, but I honestly don't know when I'll get the next one up. You'll just have to be patient and bear with me. Now get out there and REVIEW:)!!!! 


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